Dearest Aamu
As I sit down to write this, I am
besotted with so many lovely memories of the decade gone by…today as you get
ready to celebrate your first double digit birthday, for me, the moment seems
so surreal, it sets in a feeling of déjà vu!
Well…well…my eyes are slightly
moist (yes, dads cry too…) but these are tears of joy…exactly today, and I remember
so vividly…I am outside the operation theatre, the door opens and the doctor
aunty steps outside carrying you …you look so confused, I guess the light
and sound outside must have been bewildering, and then my first glimpse of you,
oh, how I was scared of picking you up, you were so tiny, I thought I might
drop you…!
From then till today, oh, what a
roller coaster ride it has been…never realized how the days grew wings and flew
by…from the wobbly bobbly baby in my arms…to the confident young girl you have
grown into…ready to take on the world on your own terms (well, for Baba, you are
still daddy’s little girl!)
This is now an annual ritual with
me, and I cherish writing these letters to you, I know, your friends might
wonder what sort of old school is this, but to me, these are best gifts I can give,
and I am sure, you will realize them as well (as you read them and start to
import their meaning.)
Today, I am going to discuss something
very different, something I haven’t spoken about in my previous letters. What I share today is something that came into existence thousands of years ago…yet
it remains eternally young!
Whenever the human mind has been
clouded in gloom and despair, and the darkest part of the night seemed never
ending, the teachings of this ancient text has brought a ray of hope…always
filled our minds and hearts with warm sunshine!
Yes, you guessed it right, today,
on your 10th birthday, let me share with you few shlokas from the Shrimad Bhagavad Gita. I am sure, these teachings will always hold you in good stead. Whenever in life you are
happy, or you are sad, you feel you have best of moments or you feel everything
is going downhill, please turn to the eternal wisdom given to Arjuna by Bhagwan Shri Krishna himself, in the battle field of Kurukshetra, millennia ago!
Let us begin.
Action and Hard work (Chapter 2,
verse 47)
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते
मा फलेषु कदाचन |
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि || 47 ||
karmaṇy-evādhikāras te mā phaleṣhu kadāchana
mā
karma-phala-hetur bhūr mā te saṅgo ’stvakarmaṇi
Today you are a student and tomorrow
you will be in another sphere of your career, remember, your job always is to
perform the task given to you well, do not unnecessarily worry about the result,
that is outside your control. Do every task with a detached mind, which means,
whatever you do, do it well and as an offering to the Lord and then sit back
and relax.
If your action is well intentioned,
you are have performed it to the best of your ability, the results will always
be for the good of humanity.
Greed (Chapter 16, verse 21)
त्रिविधं
नरकस्येदं द्वारं नाशनमात्मन: |
काम: क्रोधस्तथा लोभस्तस्मादेतत्त्रयं
त्यजेत् || 21||
tri-vidhaṁ narakasyedaṁ dvāraṁ nāśhanam ātmanaḥ
kāmaḥ krodhas tathā lobhas
tasmād etat trayaṁ tyajet
These are profound lines – 3 things
are always to be avoided – lust, anger and greed. As a student, the grip of
these 3 can be like vices and once possessed will surely lead one to downfall.
Lust here means too much liking for a material object or an object which
appeals to our senses. If we are enamored with something, it can be an object
or even an idea, it will give rise to greed, which if unchecked, will result in
anger.
Lot of times, for reasons beyond
our control, we might not get whatever we desire, and this might result into
anger. As a student, too much indulgence with smartphones, or television will
surely affect your studies. Friendships which border on too much intimacy, can
also fetter us. Whenever you are in
doubt, remember this verse.
Happiness and sorrow (Chapter 2, verse
14)
मात्रास्पर्शास्तु कौन्तेय
शीतोष्णसुखदु: खदा: |
आगमापायिनोऽनित्यास्तांस्तितिक्षस्व भारत || 14||
mātrā-sparśhās
tu kaunteya śhītoṣhṇa-sukha-duḥkha-dāḥ
āgamāpāyino ’nityās tans-titikṣhasva bhārata
Happiness and sorrow, these two are
always chasing us or maybe we chase them. As humans, we are obsessed with being
happy, and as your jaunts to the library increases, you will be surprised at
the number of self-help books dedicated to ‘being happy.’ And, therein lies the
paradox…if we chase happiness, we do not get it…similarly, if we avoid sorrow,
it will still pay us a visit.
Happiness and sorrow are temporary,
our over dependence on our sense organs is the root cause. Nothing is
permanent, if we go about our lives with a detached mind, not being over excited
if we achieve something or feel morose if we do not, we will always remain
balanced, calm and peaceful.
A very handy tip for a student, I
am sure, you will agree.
Anger (Chapter 2, verse 63)
क्रोधाद्भवति
सम्मोह: सम्मोहात्स्मृतिविभ्रम: |
स्मृतिभ्रंशाद् बुद्धिनाशो
बुद्धिनाशात्प्रणश्यति || 63||
krodhād
bhavati sammohaḥ sammohāt smṛiti-vibhramaḥ
smṛiti-bhranśhād buddhi-nāśho buddhi-nāśhāt praṇaśhyati
Remember we spoke about this in
Chapter 16, verse 21 as well.
Let us discuss this a bit more,
as this is something that is very difficult to control, and for students, it can jeopardize an entire career.
Have you ever seen a thin covering
of mist (in the area where we live, it is smog) hogging the sunlight? Poor
visibility is an invitation to accidents. Anger is like this, it clouds our
judgement, which results in spoiling our memory, which in turn destroys our
intellect. What else is left after that, our downward journey has started, isn't it?
Anger is like credit card, use
now, pay later! Act now, repent later!
When anger grips you, you commit
mistakes which you repent at leisure. Now, you might question, then do we not
get angry when we see unfair things happening around us? Yes, my dear you must,
but this anger needs to be channelized well, else merely getting angry, is all
sound and fury signifying nothing. It can even harm you in the long run.
Mediate more, sit down and observe
your breath, count up to 2o, drink a glass of cold water – these are few tips
that you can use when anger starts raise its ugly hood.
Responsibility (Chapter 2, verse
38)
सुखदु:खे
समे कृत्वा लाभालाभौ जयाजयौ |
ततो युद्धाय युज्यस्व नैवं पापमवाप्स्यसि || 38||
sukha-duḥkhe same kṛitvā lābhālābhau jayājayau
tato yuddhāya yujyasva
naivaṁ pāpam avāpsyasi
Do not forget, the Shrimad Bhagwad
Gita is wisdom imparted to Arjuna by Bhagwan Shri Krishna in the battle field,
when Arjuna is utterly confused about killing his enemies, who are in fact, his
kith and kin.
In this verse, Shri Krishna says,
all work should be done with a sense of duty and responsibility, and not because
it brings us happiness or gain.
A soldier on duty at the borders,
his job is to defend is motherland, if there is an enemy attack, he needs to
kill them to protect his motherland. He should not worry too much being right
or wrong here. That will not help.
As a student, your primary aim is
to study and learn new things, study for the sake of studying and not because you
have to score marks or pass an examination.
The knowledge you gain should be
able to make you a better person, it should uplift others as well.
Fearlessness (Chapter 2, verse 20)
न
जायते म्रियते वा कदाचि
नायं भूत्वा भविता वा न भूय: |
अजो नित्य: शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो
न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे || 20||
na jāyate
mriyate vā kadāchin
nāyaṁ bhūtvā bhavitā vā na bhūyaḥ
ajo nityaḥ śhāśhvato ’yaṁ purāṇo
na hanyate hanyamāne śharīre
This shloka is my favorite and discusses
the eternal nature of our soul. Most of us identify ourselves with the body, and
the entire life, we fuss about it. The body is perishable, it grows old and
starts to wither and finally crumbles, and that is a cause of pain for us.
The moment you switch on the TV or
flip through a magazine, you see thousands of voices screaming at you or
hundreds of faces ogling at you – they are all trying to sell you hacks and remedies
of keeping this body young and beautiful. How naïve!
The soul has always existed, it is neither born nor does it die. The moment you have this epiphany, you are liberated from all your fears. This realization is so unique – just close your eyes for a minute and bring your attention to your soul or the Self within – is it not amazing, you have in you something that has seen the creation from the very beginning and will be there till the very end, well, I contradict myself, for the soul there is no beginning or no end!
Profound and life altering! Wake up,
my child, and roar like a lioness, there is nothing stopping you, be fearless!
Mind – the all powerful (Chapter
6, verse 5)
उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं
नात्मानमवसादयेत् |
आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मन: || 5||
uddhared
ātmanātmānaṁ nātmānam avasādayet
ātmaiva hyātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ
Do you know that we actually live in our minds? It is our best friend and also our worst enemy. Confused, well, let me explain. The mind is a wonderful instrument at our disposal. If we can befriend it, it can elevate our life, and you will be able to accomplish many feats (even things which seem impossible.)
Remember, the world’s
greatest inventions, were, in fact, a mere thought in someone’s mind to begin
with. Similarly, the world’s greatest disasters (like the bombing of Japan during
WWII) were again a diabolical thought in someone’s mind.
So, train your mind well, read
good books, sit with wise people, listen to uplifting music, spend your time in
nature and most importantly meditate. Meditation (a topic I will pick up in my future
letters) is slowing down and focusing your attention on your breathing, the slower
your breath is, the more controlled your mind is. It also helps you connect
with your soul – your true self.
A controlled mind will help you
focus better, you will have more clarity of thought, and this will make you a well-rounded
individual.
The Shrimad Bhagwad Gita is not only
our holy book, it is a timeless masterpiece, a classic self help guide, a best
friend, guide and mentor one can ever have.
Let me make bold by saying that
there is no need to read any other book on how to live life…Shrimad Bhagwad Gita is the
culmination of the human mind’s eternal quest to know the true nature of our own
selves.
The dawn has just broken, and as the
rays of the rising sun dispels the night’s darkness, I pray this to Shri Krishan
for you, my child, on your 10th birthday
ॐ असतो मा सद्गमय ।
तमसो मा ज्योतिर्गमय ।
मृत्योर्मा अमृतं गमय ।
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
Om Asato Maa
Sad-Gamaya |
Tamaso Maa Jyotir-Gamaya |
Mrtyor-Maa Amrtam Gamaya |
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||
Lead us from the unreal to the real
Lead us from darkness to light
Lead us from death to immortality
Aum peace, peace, peace!
May the light of the Shrimad
Bhagwad Gita illumine your path today and fore ever! May you continue to shine and as you shine, let others shine as well!
Love
Baba
30th
April 2023
Gurgaon,
06:42AM
